Chapter 274 – Epilogue (7)

“Heal…!”

Class President Min Ah-yeong used a healing skill on an injured student.

The best healers were said to be powerful enough to regenerate a severed arm in an instant.

Healers who possessed such power could be counted on one hand, even across the world.

“…”

A faint light flowed from the class president’s hand as the skill was cast. While she was no match for those top-tier healers, her ability to reduce the pain of an injury and speed up recovery time was excellent. Today, however, that ability wasn’t working very well.

Still, she was usually able to heal minor injuries.

“Sorry, it doesn’t seem to be working well….”

“It’s fine. I can just go ask the school nurse to treat it.”

He could skip training and see the pretty school nurse. Two birds with one stone.

Excited by this thought, the male student turned to head to the infirmary, only to see a dark shadow standing before him. It was his homeroom teacher.

“Uh, I’m injured, so I was just going to the infirmary….”

“Ah, the infirmary.”

The teacher smiled as he took out a bottle of povidone-iodine, the so-called “red medicine.”

“Use this. It works great.”

“Um. It’s a bruise….”

“Isn’t red medicine a cure-all? Want me to put it on for you?”

Seeing his teacher’s smile deepen, the student took the bottle of red medicine, and with his shoulders slumped, he returned to his spot.

“Class President.”

“Yes.”

After sending the student who had been faking his injury back to the training set, Hyunbin looked at the class president.

“Go take a break.”

“What? But I’m not hurt….”

“You’re not in good condition.”

The class president couldn’t say a word in response to Hyunbin.

Reality wasn’t a game; skills didn’t always produce a fixed result. They were linked to one’s current physical condition, or even one’s mental state.

“It’s fine, so go rest for a bit. If you push yourself, the training will only be counterproductive.”

“Yes….”

The class president stood up at Hyunbin’s words.

He was working all the other students on the training ground to the bone, yet he was telling her to rest.

“So, is there anything I can help with?”

“Pardon?”

“Anything I can help you with.”

“Ah….”

She had known for a while, but her teacher was unusually perceptive.

The class president had been worried ever since seeing the news this morning, making it difficult for her to concentrate on training.

A Gate located in a blind spot of the Wizard System had gone undetected, and a dungeon field had formed.

The contaminated town was instantly turned into a dungeon, and special forces, along with hunters from nearby guilds, had been dispatched to provide civilian support and rescue the residents.

It wasn’t a large-scale dungeon field, so it was expected to be suppressed quickly, but she was worried about her grandmother and father who were in the town.

With no phone service inside the field, she had no choice but to wait helplessly.

“Yes, I’ll let you know if I need help.”

Class President Min Ah-yeong forced a smile as she spoke. After a slight bow, Hyunbin watched her small back for a moment.

“Sir! Sir! Look at me!”

Just then, Hyunbin turned his head at the sound of Han So-yul’s voice.

There stood Han So-yul, not in her academy training uniform, but in a tight-fitting, revealing, personally-owned training outfit.

“I had to wash my uniform today, so I wore my personal training clothes. It’s nice, right? What do you think?”

Han So-yul grinned playfully.

The male students couldn’t take their eyes off the revealing outfit Han So-yul was wearing.

Seeing Hyunbin staring intently at her, Han So-yul smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

Hwang Jae-hoon and Hong Jae-yeong had tried to mess with their teacher and failed; now it was her turn. She knew she couldn’t beat him with force, so she decided to try and captivate him with her beauty.

She was quite confident in her navel, and seeing Hyunbin’s gaze fixed on her exposed midriff filled her with a sense of victory and accomplishment.

“This can’t be….”

“What is it? Can’t take your eyes off me? For you, sir, I’ll give a special….”

“Where did all your muscles go…”

Han So-yul blinked, taken aback by Hyunbin’s unexpected reaction.

“One hundred sit-ups….”

“What…?”

“I said, one hundred sit-ups….”

“R-Right now?”

“I will not let your muscles go to waste.”

Hyunbin wore a sad expression. Then, as if he were folding paper, he forcibly folded and unfolded Han So-yul, making her do sit-ups.

“Kyaaah! I-I’ll do it myself…!”

Hearing Han So-yul’s mournful scream, Hwang Jae-yeon and Hong Jae-yeong sighed with expressions that said, *I knew it*.

This experience taught them one thing for sure: trying any funny business would only result in harsher punishment.

* * *

“Ugh… What a stone-cold man…. My stomach feels like it’s going to rip….”

A thoroughly thrashed Han So-yul was draped over the dining table like a piece of laundry, whining.

He’d said one hundred sit-ups, but as soon as she’d shakily finished them, another hundred were added.

In the end, the training session concluded with a six-pack forcibly carved into her stomach.

“Ah-yeong, still, don’t you think the teacher is interested in me?”

At Han So-yul’s words, Class President Min Ah-yeong gave a bitter smile.

Han So-yul was giggling as she shook the chicken breast and protein drink Hyunbin had given her.

“He gave me something to eat for lunch. This is a green light. Right?”

“I don’t know….”

From the class president’s perspective, it looked less like a green light and more like a red one.

It was more like special management for Han So-yul, who wasn’t bulking up like the other kids. Han So-yul ate very little, so she wasn’t gaining muscle mass. The protein-rich meal was likely a considerate gesture as part of that plan.

“Hmm. It’s a bit dry, but it tastes better than I thought.”

Han So-yul was diligently munching on the tough chicken breast.

Anyone could see that Mr. Hyunbin wasn’t the type to view his students as women.

She wanted to wake Han So-yul from her pointless delusion, but seeing her so lively after Mr. Hyunbin’s arrival wasn’t a bad sight, so she decided not to rain on her parade.

After all, the Han So-yul she usually remembered was the one always sleeping with her head on her desk.

“But Ah-yeong. Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just….”

“You’ve been checking your phone all day and you look down. Tell your big sis here, and I’ll solve it for you.”

The class president managed a wry smile at Han So-yul’s words.

The message she sent to her dad. The number ‘1’ next to it hadn’t disappeared. He still hadn’t seen it. And there were no new updates on the news.

“Actually….”

Feeling frustrated, the class president explained the situation to Han So-yul.

She watched as Han So-yul’s playful expression slowly hardened. As she spoke, the class president felt a pang of regret.

Han So-yul had become famous in her early elementary years for tearing monsters that attacked her home limb from limb with her psychokinesis.

Along with the title of the youngest Awakened, she also earned the moniker of a genius. But Han So-yul didn’t like that title.

She gained fame from the incident, but she also lost both her parents.

All sorts of support poured in for the orphaned Han So-yul, but she accepted none of it. Accepting support meant having a leash put on her—by the guilds that wanted her.

So, Han So-yul worked part-time jobs. It meant she was often short on sleep, but it was her choice.

“What? Ah-yeong, this is no time for you to be in class!”

“Ah, yeah. That’s true, but there’s nothing I can do right now….”

“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do? We have to go!”

“But there are soldiers there, and guilds are already working on clearing it….”

Trust and wait.

It was easy to say, but hard to do. Even though her body was at school, her heart was already with her family.

“You idiot, don’t you know that even if it’s a low-rank dungeon, the civilian casualties will be immense once it forms in a town? Don’t end up with regrets like I did.”

“…”

“Let’s skip class and enter the dungeon.”

“The dungeon?”

The class president was severely conflicted by Han So-yul’s impulsive words.

It was a dangerous place. But her family was in even greater danger. At the very least, she was a supporter who could use healing skills.

“I’ll go with you.”

“You’ll go with me?”

“Yeah. We’re going to be hunters later anyway, right? And to be honest, I’m stronger than most hunters out there already.”

True to her words, Han So-yul’s potential had already been judged to be S-rank.

“I’m pretty confident I can handle most of them myself, but I’ll still need a meat shield… Hey, baldy, get over here!”

Han So-yul was already treating skipping class as a done deal. Honestly, the class president also wanted to check if her family was safe right this instant.

Was it because of their shared pain? The class president was grateful for Han So-yul’s offer to help.

“I’ve got a good reason to skip class. Wanna hear it?”

The class president somehow got the feeling Han So-yul was just trying to avoid getting thrashed by Hyunbin in the afternoon session.

* * *

“Alright, everyone. It’s time for our fun afternoon training session….”

Hyunbin trailed off, noticing that some spots were empty, like missing teeth.

“The Class President, Han So-yul, Hwang Jae-hoon, and Hong Jae-yeong.”

The spots for the class president and the top three students were empty.

“Where did those kids go?”

While Hyunbin stood there dumbfounded, the class president and the top three had skipped the afternoon session and taken a taxi to the area where the dungeon field had appeared.

“Aren’t we gonna be dead tomorrow when the teacher finds out?”

Hong Jae-yeong muttered to himself worriedly.

“Hey, do you really think our teacher is that petty? We helped a friend whose family was in danger. He’ll probably praise us for doing a good job.”

“You think so? I mean, we’re hunters too, even if we’re just amateurs.”

“…”

While Hong Jae-yeong and Han So-yul bantered, Hwang Jae-hoon surveyed their surroundings.

The scene they arrived at was cordoned off with access control lines, and soldiers armed with rifles stood guard.

Seeing the grim cityscape, something not normally seen, the class president bit her lip hard, looking as if she was about to burst into tears.

“Isn’t that Kim In-ho?”

“You’re right.”

It was Kim In-ho, one of the successors to the Delivery Man and the cornerstone of the Hanul Guild.

He was an S-rank Hunter who could also wield Commander and Formation skills, a man who played a major role in large-scale battles.

“The fact that even Kim In-ho is here must mean this is more serious than what they said on the news… Oof!”

Han So-yul jabbed Hong Jae-yeong in the solar plexus with her elbow, as if telling him to think before he spoke.

Hong Jae-yeong belatedly noticed the class president’s somber face and began to look around sheepishly.

Outside the restricted fence, residents of the town were lamenting as they watched the warzone being bombarded with firepower.

Watching their homes crumble at the hands of monsters was not a pleasant sight.

Most of the town’s residents had been evacuated, but those with family still inside were pacing anxiously, pleading with the soldiers.

“My family is in there! Please let me inside!”

“You can’t. It’s too dangerous!”

“Then when is the rescue team going in?”

“That’s….”

The class president started running toward a man who was pleading with a soldier.

“Dad!”

“Ah-yeong. How did you get here….”

“What about Grandma and Hee-joon?”

“Grandma and Hee-joon….”

Min Ah-yeong’s father’s face darkened.

She knew what that meant.

“They couldn’t evacuate…?”

“No…. But don’t worry. These gentlemen said a rescue team will be going in. So….”

Anyone could tell it was nothing more than baseless hope.

The current situation was not one where a rescue team could be deployed.

The dungeon, which had been reported as low-grade, was spawning a terrifying number of monsters that were swarming to get outside.

Min Ah-yeong’s father, who had been at work, was fortunate enough to avoid the danger, but her grandmother, who had been at home, hadn’t managed to get out.

“What do we do…. Grandma and Min-joon….”

The class president sobbed in her father’s arms.

The thought of her grandmother, who had difficulty moving, being trapped inside made the two of them feel as if the sky were falling.

“Hello. I’m Han So-yul, Ah-yeong’s friend.”

“Ah-yeong’s friend. I’m sorry. I’m a bit of a mess right now.”

“It’s okay. I heard what happened. Ah-yeong, do you have a picture of your grandma and brother?”

“A picture…?”

“Yeah. We don’t know what your grandma looks like.”

The class president couldn’t understand Han So-yul’s sudden question.

“Don’t tell me….”

“We have to go find them.”

At Han So-yul’s words, the class president blinked her tear-soaked eyes.

It was a reckless thing to say.

Right now, hunters and soldiers under the command of Hanul Guild’s Kim In-ho were holding back waves of monsters.

It wasn’t even certain how many more waves were to come.

The inside was no longer a human residence but a monster hatchery.

The probability of any survivors being alive was close to zero.

“We’re semi-pro hunters anyway, right?”

Han So-yul said confidently.